Goals from Nicolas Gonzalez and Kolo Muani set Juve on course for a routine win, although a reckless first-half challenge from Kenan Yildiz altered the flow of the contest after the turnaround/
Tudor was forced to make changes to the starting line-up that was stunned by lowly Parma. Top scorer Dusan Vlahovic had limped off with a muscular problem, so Muani made his first start for Tudor as the lone striker, with Yildiz restored to the wing following his recent impact injury during training.
Juventus kicked off the showdown languishing in sixth spot following AS Roma’s 1-0 success at Inter Milan, so were in need of picking up maximum points in the race for a top four finish that will secure Champions League soccer next term.
Monza, who required a win to keep hopes of avoiding the drop, were uncharacteristically aggressive from the start. They forced the hosts back into their box during the opening exchanges.
Juve defended relentlessly in the first 10 minutes, dealing with a series of crosses into the area. Monza came close to breaking the deadlock through Samuele Birindelli, who exploited an opening in the Juve backline. He raced through on goal, only for 'keeper Michele Di Gregorio to smother his shot.
Fight back
The Bianconeri were jolted by this scare and raced down the other end to open the scoring. Gonzalez raced down the right wing, cutting inside and from long range found the bottom corner with a curling left-footed drive.
This lifted the hosts, who piled on the pressure and poured forward. It was only a question of time when Juventus would add to their tally.
Muani doubled Juve's lead on 34 minutes to end his 79-day goal drought. Manuel Locatelli won the ball back in midfield, picked out Khephren Thuram who knocked it down for Kolo Muani to fire into the bottom corner.
Seeing red
Juve were cruising until a moment of madness from Turkish teenager Yildiz, who is wanted by a clutch of Premier League clubs, saw red.
Yildiz appeared to elbow Alessandro Bianco in the face. A VAR review revealed that he had looked at Bianco seconds before the elbow, showing bad intent, and was given his marching orders for violent conduct.
It became a game of two halves with Juventus a man down for the second 45 minutes, and given the runaround.
There were jitters during the opening exchanges of the second half after Andrea Cambiaso ran into the back of Birindelli inside the penalty area, but the referee waved play on. Birindelli was a constant menace to the home defence until the hour-mark.
Missed chance
The closest that Juve came to scoring a third goal was through Gonzalez, set up by Muani. But her lost his balance while taking the shot, allowing shotstopper Stefano Turati to save the effort with his outstretched foot.
Monza continued to pour forward, and for the closing 20 minutes vulnerable-looking Juve clinged on although they relied on time-wasting as much as possible.
Despite Yildiz’s mistake, the precious points lifted Juve back to fourth in Serie A to leapfrog Bologna who tackle Udinese on Monday evening. Bologna host the Bianconeri next Sunday for an all-important showdown.
Yildiz's red card means that he will miss the Bologna match and the following week's contest at Lazio, who are also chasing a top four finish.
Tudor pleased
Tudor explained in the post-match press conference: "Yildiz was very sad, because he's a really good guy. The second [half] was a more controlled performance, but we knew how to stay in control and showed a strong desire not to concede goals.
"I liked Kolo Muani’s performance a lot, especially from an attitude perspective. He was able to understand the match well, it was a complete performance.
"The lads put in a good performance. Now we are only thinking about Bologna. We want to go and face them and show that we are stronger."